


The Smallest Moments

by ncfan



Series: Nargothrond [1]
Category: TOLKIEN J. R. R. - Works, The Silmarillion and other histories of Middle-Earth - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-28
Updated: 2014-01-28
Packaged: 2018-01-10 07:59:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 559
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1157087
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ncfan/pseuds/ncfan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Finrod welcomes Celebrimbor to Nargothrond.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Smallest Moments

"It's good to see you again, Telpe; Curufinwë told me in his letters that you had gotten to be very tall, but to be honest, I'd not believed him."

Thingol banned the use of Quenya in Beleriand, and Finrod abided by the Ban, as much as it galled him. After Thingol's guidance in the construction of Nargothrond, and his referring him to the Hadhodrim of the Blue Mountains, it seemed only fair. There was the fact that Nargothrond and Doriath were fairly close to each other, and that Galadriel lived in Doriath now to consider as well. His cousins to the east could do what they wanted with relative impunity—nothing they did was going to make Thingol like them, anyways. It was more important to Finrod he maintain good relations with Thingol.

However, for the time being, Finrod was quite content and quite set upon continuing to use his Noldorin kin's Quenya names. He had never attempted to hide the fact that he was doing so, and thus far, Thingol had not made an issue of it. Until such time as he started, Finrod would continue to use Quenya names when conversing with Noldorin kin.

On the banks of the River Narog, Celebrimbor handed his horse off to a groom, and smiled tentatively as Finrod.

It really had been such a long time since they had last seen one another. Celebrimbor had just been a small child, in fact. Now, he was a child no longer. Curufin had truly been speaking the truth when he said that his son had grown tall; Celebrimbor was taller than Finrod now. But he was also very slim, in possession of all the awkward ungainliness of adolescence, despite having come of age over ten years ago. Finrod had noticed that children were apt to mature more slowly now that the skies were lit by Rána and Vása and not Telperion and Laurelin; maybe that applied even to those children who had been born during the time of the Trees.

Celebrimbor bobbed his head, having to brush some stray strands of hair out of his face at the same time. "Findaráto…" His eyes darted to and fro, and the longer he did it, the more Finrod suspected that he was trying to remember something his kinfolk had told him to say. "…On the behalf of the House of Fëanáro, on behalf of my father, my uncles and my aunt, I thank you for permitting me to stay in Nargothrond."

He was so obviously uncomfortable that Finrod didn't know whether to smile in sympathy or wonder why on Earth Curufin hadn't waited a few more years to send his son abroad, until he was more comfortable in his skin and more comfortable being away from his close kin for months at a time. In the end, he did both, marveling that Celebrimbor could look so much like Curufin and Fëanor, and yet be utterly lacking in their larger-than-life self-assurance.

Finrod reached out and slapped his shoulder, motioning him on forwards. Sunlight flashed on the river, and they both had to blink the light out of their eyes, squinting in order to see. "I hope you'll like it here, Telperinquar; I'm glad your father could spare you."

Celebrimbor smiled, and nodded. Finrod felt the tension go out of the boy's shoulders, and he smiled back.

**Author's Note:**

> Telpe, Telperinquar—Celebrimbor  
> Curufinwë—Curufin  
> Findaráto—Finrod  
> Fëanáro—Fëanor
> 
> Hadhodrim—one of the (many) names for the Dwarves (singular: Hadhod) (Sindarin)  
> Rána—the Exilic name for the Moon, signifying 'The Wanderer' (Quenya)  
> Vása—the Exilic name for the Sun, signifying 'The Consumer' (Quenya)


End file.
